1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a method for fabricating a carbon nanotube and, particularly, to a method of manufacturing a carbon nanotube film composed of multiple carbon nanotubes using plasma treatment.
2. Discussions of the Related Art
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have a high Young's modulus, high thermal conductivity, and high electrical conductivity, among other properties, making them an ideal composite material supplement. It has thus been suggested that CNT composite materials can play an important role in fields such as microelectronics, material science, biology, and chemistry.
However, the main obstacle to an actual application of CNTs is the difficulty to process the powdered form of CNT products. Therefore, CNTs are formed into films to facilitate handling and processing thereof.
Currently, different methods are widely used for fabricating CNT films including a growing method, a spraying method, and a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method.
In the growing method, a CNT film is grown on a chemically functionalized substrate directly by adopting multiple catalyst layers. In the spraying method, CNTs, dispersed in a solvent, are sprayed on a substrate. In the LB method, CNTs are soluble through an introduction of amide groups therein, and then through a step of “molecular self-assembly”, the film accumulates on a substrate.
However, the CNT films manufactured by the three methods mentioned above are incapable of actualizing self-supporting function, and of sufficiently utilizing favorable radial conductive capability due to a disordered arrangement of CNT contained in the CNT films. In addition, the CNT films manufactured by the three methods have relatively high thickness and poor transparency and are incapable of replacing related Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) materials to manufacture transparent and electric thin film.
What is needed, therefore, is a CNT film structure and a method for fabricating the same, to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings.